


Out in the Pasture

by snoftlich



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 18:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snoftlich/pseuds/snoftlich
Summary: Where does dabbling with the dark arts get a quiet rancher?





	Out in the Pasture

The sun sank lower into the sky with each passing minute, and yet there Charles was, left alone in the stables to tend to the horses. Again. With a sigh of resignation, he turned to leave the barn, and was startled by a silhouette just outside. “Fuckin’-- Amos!” He shook a way the wide grin that came to his face and stormed out of the stables. “I understand ya can’t help when yer this sick, but you should be resting, not doing lord knows what out in those woods!”

Amos offered a pained smile, kicking the dirt under his feet. “Sorry, Chips—”

“Don’t you ‘Chips’ me! Yer out there playin’ with dark magic and—”

“Charles,” Amos breathed, his smile all but faded. “Please. I’m sorry. Can we talk?”

Charles stared for a long moment. The setting sun beat down on Amos’s form, and he could see him a bit more clearly. The dark, curly hair, the deep brown of his eyes, those soft lips he’d come to love. The frail body, the rugged brown hands he loved to hold, shaking at his side. Charles breathing hitched.

“Charles, please—”

“Of course we can, love,” Charles whispered. “Whatever you need to tell me, I’m…” A deep breath. “I’m here for you.”

The gentle smiled returned, but just barely. Amos offered a hand to Charles. “As you always have been.”

Charles bit his lip. He wiped his sweaty and grimy hands off on his jeans before taking Amos’s hand. He wanted to cry. Amos felt so cold.

And yet, Amos led Charles across the pasture to their home, a bit run down, but still as comforting as ever. Dead grass and dirt crunched under their feet, the sun sinking lower and lower behind the horizon until it disappeared and was replaced by the comforting cool of the night, stars freckling the sky.

They came upon the house quicker than either expected. Charles fiddled with the lock on the gate, Amos opened the mailbox to pull out some junk. Amos gingerly pat the names on the mailbox, ‘Bettigan and Sheehan’, and Charles let the gate swing open. They took each other’s hand and walked in together.

Amos walked into the dark house, taking off his muddy boots, carefully setting them in their appropriate spot by the door, and walked careful into the family room, flicking on a dim lamp. He drew in a deep breath and sat down, the old couch creaking under his weight.

Charles joined him. There was no point in waiting until he was invited, and there was no point in waiting for Amos to speak. “Love, how’s your illness?”

Amos didn’t respond for a long moment, staring across the room, into the kitchen, and out the window into the dark of night, into the pasture, and further still the forest he loved so much, and the forest that chilled Charles to the bone. “Could be better. Not much can be done at this point.”

Charles closed his eyes, taking Amos’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. He didn’t speak until the gesture was returned, which it almost immediately was. “I’m not sure what to do anymore, Amos. I don’t know what I’m goin’ to do without you.”

Amos stayed quiet again. “Well, my plan isn’t…” He trailed off. “I’m not sure how to say what I need to tell you. I truly don’t want to leave this world, to leave you. And, I have a plan. But, Charles, Chips. You need to let me go. I need you—” His voice caught in his throat. “I need…”

Charles wiped tears from his eyes and scooted closer to Amos. “Take your time.”

Amos did. A good minute passed. “I need you to accept the fact that I’m going to die. I need you to be at peace with that now, I need the comfort of knowing that if things don’t go perfectly, you will be all right. Even if I’m not here, please. Please promise me you… you will keep going. That you’ll continue to be happy. Mourn for me, but please, please don’t, don’t wallow there. I love you with all my heart, and I want you to move on, with or without me. Can you promise that?” He took a deep breath. “Can you promise it’ll be okay?”

Charles took his time, ruminating on what Amos said to him, his words, his love, his fear. The house somehow felt hot, even on the cool midsummer night. He dried his face with his sleeve and laughed when Amos wiped away some smudged dirt on Charles’s cheeks. “Amos, you’ve given me an amazing fifteen years. We’ve had our fights, given some race horses some ridiculous names, gone on some wild adventures, or, well, they felt wild… We know so much about each other. You have my soul. You have my love. And you have…” He closed his eyes, feeling tears coming on. “You have my promise. Even without you, I’ll be happy. But I… I won’t be without you, love. We have over a decade’s worth of memories together, and I will cherish them for a lifetime.” He cupped Amos’s cheek in his hand, pulled him closer, and they kissed for a long moment. Warm, soft, comforting, fearful, peaceful. Charles pulled away first, hand still caressing Amos’s cheek. “Thank you for everything.”

Amos took a deep breath, waited a beat, and clumsily got to his feet. “Can you walk me outside?”

Charles nodded, offering a hand to Amos, who took it immediately, and the two walked through the house together, out into the yard, under the stars freckling the night sky. Charles walked Amos to the gate, tensing when Amos pulled his hand away. “Where are you going…?”

Amos stared up at the sky. “…Sagittarius is out tonight. It’s a beautiful constellation, my favorite one.” He turned his attention to Charles and smiled. “It’s your sign, too.”  
Charles laughed a bit, running a hand through his shaggy, brown hair. “That it is, you silly. But where—”

“I’m heading to the forest,” Amos breathed. “Keep an eye on the horses for me, and keep an eye on the pasture.”

“There’s nothing there, though.”

“I’m aware. Keep an eye on it.” Amos was quiet for just a moment. “May that celestial archer bless me tonight.” He waved at Charles before walking out through the pasture. “Thank you, Chips. I love you with all my heart and soul.”

Charles watched him go, walking slowly through the dead grass, his form disappearing into the inky dark of night. The forest wasn’t far off. He looked up at the stars, said a quiet prayer, and headed back into the house.

* * * * *

Charles must have fallen asleep on the couch, because he woke with a start when the room was illuminated by a bright blue light. Violently but distant crackles of lightning could be heard, light drowning out almost all his vision. When the fury started to fade, he could easily tell where it came from. The forest. And almost as soon as he came to that realization, the light and noises became stronger and stronger, not pouring into the house, but more concentrated. With a purpose, but frantic. With fear. He got off the couch, boots clicking against the floor, and rushed out into the dark of night.

It wasn’t that dark at all.

A bright blue light slid through the trees in the forest, and even as concentrated as the light was, it felt like day. The light passed through the trees and into the pasture, where Charles ran out to meet it.  
A skeletal figure was at the center of the light, frantic and fearful, but when it saw Charles, the lights died down, just the tiniest bit. It made a noise, though through everything else it was indecipherable.  
Charles didn’t need any explanation. The pieces clicked together. He was looking at a lich. He was looking at his husband. Amos knew he wasn’t going to make it, and knew he wasn’t ready to leave everything behind, and here he was, soul combined with the dark magic Charles wished he never even considered dabbling in. And Amos needed him.

“Love,” Charles said slowly. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

The crackling got wilder and more frantic. “How can you be sure?!” the figure hissed.

Charles took a small step closer to Amos. “I promised you.”

“You…” The crackling ebbed into almost static. “You did. It’ll be okay?”

“I promised you once, Amos, and I’ll promise again.” Another, much less hesitant step. “It will be okay.”

“I’m sorry.” The light surrounding the figure dimmed. The skeletal figure seemed to be that of a horse. “There’s so much fear, I wasn’t ready, it was too soon—”

“But you’re safe. You did what you set out to do.” Charles cleared the distance between himself and Amos. “Love, you’re here. I knew it was you the moment I saw you. Amos. You’re safe, and here, and we have all that we did before you stepped out into this pasture to the forest.”

“Memories…”

“You have my love, my soul.” Charles smiled softly. “Forever.”

The lights dimmed until they were nothing but a soft cool glow around the lich. There were no sounds in the night other than crickets chirping far in the distance and Charles collected breathing. “And you have mine.” Amos laughed softly. “Thank you for everything, Chips.”

And they stayed together throughout the night under the archer’s luminance out in the pasture.

**Author's Note:**

> i like liches and gay shit so have my self indulgent ship bs lmao


End file.
